


Im Anfang war die Tat

by Eldritch



Category: Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-29
Updated: 2012-02-29
Packaged: 2017-10-31 21:34:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/348586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eldritch/pseuds/Eldritch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bakura Ryou summons his Servant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Im Anfang war die Tat

**Author's Note:**

> I found numerous different translations for the summoning ritual, and the one that seemed to match the actual Japanese best without sounding completely stilted was the one from the Fate/Zero anime, so I just went with that.

A mostly-abandoned storeroom at the back of the Domino Museum wasn't exactly the most atmospheric location for a summoning ritual, but it was the best Ryou had, so he'd decided to make it work. The first order of business had been dragging boxes out of the way and stacking them until he had a reasonable amount of clear floor space, and then he'd set to work. The floor had to be swept free of the dust and debris it had accumulated over the years so that he could draw the spell circle properly. 

He'd expected drawing the complex design to be frustrating, which was why he'd decided on chalk as the medium. That way, he could erase any mistakes without any difficulty. Blood seemed more traditional, but it stained and was significantly harder to acquire in the quantities he would need. Besides, with chalk, the only other tools he needed was a yardstick for straight lines and measurements and a piece of string for the circles. As it turned out, replicating the sketch he'd found in its proper size was the easy part. Staying hunched over on the cold, hard cement floor long enough to draw it without his knees screaming in protest, on the other hand, was an entirely different matter.

Apparently real-life magic wasn't as glamorous as it was in fiction.

At any other time, that thought might have sent a pang of disappointment through him. Today, though, Ryou was focused on more important things. He sat back and eyed his work critically. Everything looked right, but the downside of drawing the circle with chalk was that he'd read _Faust_ , and even though he was pretty sure that Heroic Spirits operated on different rules than fictional demons, he was still relieved to see that there weren't any stray marks or missing lines in the design.

"I guess it's time," he said out loud to himself, and immediately felt silly for it. He brushed off his hands and straightened up, leafing through the battered spell book until he found the right page.

The book was one of his father's many unique gifts, each of them an expensive and awkward way of apologizing for not spending any time with Ryou. For not _wanting_ to spend any time with him. Not when Ryou reminded him too much of a wife who had left him, and a daughter who-- well. In any case, it was an attempt to appeal to his son's almost obsessive interest in the occult. Ryou could easily imagine his father sending him a 'real' grimoire with the thought that it would keep him busy long enough to stop the worried letters from neighbors and teachers alike.

His father had been right, funnily enough. Just not in the way he'd thought. The book _was_ real. And it had given Ryou a project. He wasn't sure if it was sheer coincidence or some sort of fate that had put the book into his hands less than a year before the next itineration of the Holy Grail War was scheduled to begin, but whatever the cause, the moment he'd read about it, he had decided that there would be no stopping him from participating.

And now it was time. He stretched out his right hand. The back of it itched where the Command Spells had appeared. Originally, Ryou had planned on borrowing an artifact from the museum to assist in the summoning, but he'd discarded the idea after searching through the collection without finding anything particularly suitable. Sure, the museum had its share of armor from daimyos and pharaonic funerary displays, but nothing had _felt_ right. He was just going to have to leave the identity of his Servant up to chance.

"A foundation of silver and--" His voice was shaking, as much from anticipation as sudden nervousness. That wouldn't do. He couldn't afford to mess this up. Ryou took a deep breath and began again. "A foundation of silver and iron. Upon it rests the cornerstone and Archduke of Contracts…"

His voice evened out into a confident flow of words as he recited the spell he'd read to himself dozens of times previously. It was a little like the voice he used when he DMed, Ryou thought, and the absurdity of comparing Monster World to what he was doing almost made him smile-- but the circle was glowing now. It was actually glowing. Ryou could _feel_ the power flowing from it. This was really happening. Momentum alone kept him from stumbling over his worlds.

"If thou wilt bend to my will, my justice, heed the Grail's call, and give your answer. I swear to thee, I will become all that is good in the world, and I shall eradicate all that is evil. Seven Heavens, clad in the three holy souls, cast aside your shackles, Guardian of the Scales!"

The light from the circle flared so brightly that Ryou automatically threw up a hand to protect his eyes as he squeezed them shut. The brightness was so intense that when he finally opened his eyes again, spots danced in front of his vision, half-blinding him. There was a roaring in his ears -- some sort of mana backlash?

Some of the boxes had fallen from where he'd stacked them. Ryou hoped fleetingly whatever was inside was just files rather than poorly-stored artifacts before his attention was completely stolen by something else. Some _one_ else.

There was a man standing in the center of the circle. His hair was shockingly white, like Ryou's own, but that was where the resemblance ended. The man had dark skin and and a lean, muscular frame. He wore a long red coat over a linen kilt, and most strikingly, an intricate and heavy gold necklace decorated with an eye -- the design was Egyptian, whispered some part of Ryou's mind that wasn't completely caught up in giddy awe.

The man looked up, and Ryou's breath caught -- there was a terrible scar covering the length of the right side of his face. He wanted to get a better look at it, but he couldn't pull his gaze away from the man's-- the _Servant's_ eyes. They were light in color and wickedly intense.

"Are you the one who summoned me?" the man asked.

It took Ryou a moment to find his voice. "Yes," he managed, a little breathlessly. Then, again, more confidently: "Yes."

_Wait for me, Amane,_ he thought. _We're going to win, and I'm going to wish you back._


End file.
